A note on underdogs at Business Week, at Goblin Mercantile Exchange:

For that matter, it is in the background of controller evolution that comfort and precision are generally held to the highest standards. In response to niche demands, through the mid-%u201990s Sega refined its control pads to a level that many enthusiasts consider the peak of design. The result: of the three major consoles of the last generation, the least mainstream is one of the most well-designed controllers ever; the second-least mainstream is one of the most innovative controllers ever, and the controller that became the default model for the following ten years %u2013 while neither well-designed nor in any sense original %u2013 is best adapted to the demands of the majority, by borrowing bits of everything else.